And on the other hand...

Friday, January 1, 2010

Yang New Year

"Leave the horses in the wagon, it's all downhill from here..."

"The fireworks are over, only the smoke remains, clouding my great crystal balls."

--The Firesign Theatre, "I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus."

After being awakened a few minutes before midnight (somehow I was actually sleeping through hours of the war zone sounds of Hawaii fireworks, the way I always fell asleep on my Grandmother's mohair sofa while all the uncles and aunts and parents were carousing), we made our annual champagne toast and out on the lanai I banged my Chinese opera gong (timing precisely monitored by the Wizard's new iPhone's atomic clock app, I knew he was gonna get weird with this stuff). Three midnight gong bangs --the only time I am permitted to irritate my neighbors. I hope I woke up the noisy Russians downstairs.

This morning I observed the progress of the Christmas cactus that started to set blossoms at the winter solstice. I can't imagine what this New Year has in store, but I have confidence that whatever it is, I can cope. The cactus year after year thrives and blooms; why not me?

"Ahhh!," the swami says, "The balls are clearing again. The right one is the Sun, and the left one is the Moon. Put what you want between them, and your future begins."

Tao With Me

TAO 61: A great nation flows downward into intercourse with the world. The female of the world always prevails over the male by stillness. Because stillness is considered lower, by lowering itself to a small nation a great nation takes a small nation; by being lower than a great nation a small nation takes a great nation. So one takes by lowering itself, another takes place by being lower. A great nation wants no more than to include and nurture people; a small nation wants no more than to admit and serve people. Both get what they want, so the great should be below.translated from the Tao Te Ching, Thomas CLeary